I am a forty something from Plano, TX who has decided to try an adapt a lifestyle as laid out by Mark Sisson in the book called The Primal Blueprint.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Primal Blueprint and Primal Blueprint Fitness Results at 6 Months

I just turned 46 and, I weigh less and feel better now then I did when I was in my twenties!

In June of 2010 my four year-old son asked me why I was so fat. I was a little shocked at his question. At that time I weighed 230 (5’ 10”) and had really not considered myself to be fat; a little overweight, but certainly not fat. So, I got to thinking about his question. Kids that young are pretty honest and call it as they see it, so I must really be fat! Huh, I must be in denial! Time to get serious about losing a lot of weight this time.

At the time of my son’s question I was running about 15 – 20 miles per week (mpw) at about 80% –85% of my max heart rate about 4 times a week. I had stopped Powerlifting about 6 years ago and stopped any weight training all together about 4 years ago. Looking back, I seem to remember one of my wife’s questions, “Honey, you run so much and you’re not losing any weight, why?” I dismissed that question and figured that if I just ran faster and farther my weight would magically control itself. … Right? After all I was exercising a little and was reasonably healthy, or so I thought.

Primal Blueprint

So I started doing some research into some weight lose techniques and ways to change my lifestyle so I could keep the weigh off long-term. I did not want to do some short-term miracle diet and have the weight come back later. I needed a lifestyle makeover, not a diet. During this research I came across Marksdailyapple.com and the Primal Blueprint. Eureka! I read the Primal 101 posts on MDA and decided I would start my journey on our vacation in Estes Park, Colorado in the beginning of July. We would have to drive about 12 hours and then be in the middle of the Rocky Mountains National Park. That sounded like a great place to start a lifestyle change. I stopped eating grain during vacation, and things were going well so I decided to order the book and go whole hog when we returned to Plano. I told my wife of my plans to stop eating all grain and cereals and to increase my fruit and veggie intake. She was very skeptical at first until the weight started coming off. I started at 225 lbs. in July.

228 lbs. in May 2010

By the first week of October I weighted 205 lbs. for the first time in 17 years!

205 lbs. in October 2010.

Today I am at 190 lbs. and feel great. The best part of this is how my family has reacted. Since I have eliminated grains from my diet there is no more “junk food” in the house. My son, who is now 5, stops asking to eat junk (chips, crackers, cookies) and both he and my wife have cut way back on their grain intake. We are all eating healthier and are more active! To me, that is the real success of my journey!

195 lbs in November at the Dallas running Club (DRC) Half-Marathon

Primal Blueprint Fitness.

I have changed my running to follow the Primal Blueprint Fitness (PBF) guidelines. Instead of running my old way for distance, time and pace, I now try to run 3 – 5 hours per week while keeping my heart rate between 55 – 75%, even if it means walking. I don't worry about pace. This has improved my race times (which I now consider PLAY!) immensely. I ran a half-marathon in April 2010, before becoming Primal, and finished in 2 hours and 8 minutes. After that run I was extremely sore and could hardly walk for a week. I ran my last half-marathon in November, after becoming Primal, and finished in 1 hour and 53 minutes. The best part was after the run I felt fresh and was not sore at all.
I sprint on Mondays, get in 3 - 5 hours of low to moderate aerobic activity a week, have gotten to at least level 4 on four of the 5 Primal Essential Movements (still working on pull ups) and am really enjoying all of the different WoWs! My favorite WoWs are Cave Burpees (100 burpees are tough and I was sore for almost a week!), Easy as 1,2,3, The Fight and Flight, Aurock Stalk, Bringing Home the Kill and Automobilty. I have even increased my hip and ankle mobility, which is something I have struggled with for many years.

My son now tells his friends that his Dad was fat but he's skinny now!

10 comments:

Nice work, Joe. I love it when people take the PB concept and embrace it as you have. That's very cool that the family has come along for the ride, too. Great way to start a healthy life. Keep up the great work. Mark

I'm trying Primal, too, while training for my 9th half-marathon, but I find my long runs are suffering. (Or should I say I'm suffering on my long runs.) I'm training mostly at a slow pace, but after about 5 miles, I'm just done. I don't have the energy or spring in my legs I used to have. Can you detail your training plan for me? Sprints on Monday..... then how did you divide up the rest of the 3-5 hours per week? Are you eating a heckofalot of sweet potatoes?

I think the key to training is getting in lot of runs at a a low heart rate. I got in on long run (8 - 12 miles) on the weekend (keep HR low). The rest were 4 - 5 miles at a low HR My sprints were mostly 1/4 mile sprints, with some shorter sprints and longer sprints mixed in. During the last 8 weeks I also started adding some 30minute tempos into the mix.minute tempo runs once a week.

If you're feeling tired, take a few days off then start back a little slower.

I did not think I'd do well at all during my last half. I figured the low heart stuff would slow me down, but it really made me stronger.